Another Bump In the Road

Seriously, could we do without the damn bumps in the road? How nice would that be? Alright, here's the story.

I feel fantastic. I've managed to balance a seriously busy work schedule with Foundation stuff, book stuff, tournament stuff, daily trips to the gym, green juicing, vegan living, 7-8 hours of sleep every night, Sparks games, Dodger games, concerts, and cuddle time with Winston. I have an insane amount of energy -- I have to force myself to remain sleeping sometimes because the minute I open my eyes, I'm charged, rejuvenated, and ready to rock. My bowel movements are utter masterpieces. My lungs breathe deeply and steadily. I am doing parallel squats with 160 pounds on my shoulders and benching 120 pounds. Things are good, people. Life is beautiful.

Except for one thing.

My CEA is elevated, and that's not a good thing.

CEA, or carcinoembryonic antigen, is found in the blood, urine, or other tissues, and is generally used as a tumor marker for colon cancer (and some others). An elevated CEA count is sometimes indicative of a recurrence of "the cancer." Your pal WunderGlo has an elevated CEA count.

Does this mean that I definitely have a recurrence? No, it doesn't. Does it mean that I need to follow up with some more scans? Yep, it does. Next week I'll be getting another crack at this PET/CT scan business, and I hope to ace this one. An elevated CEA can mean many things besides cancer, and I'm rooting for "many things besides" rather than "cancer." If the scans are good, I'm good. And if they aren't all that we'd hoped for, I'll get back into the ring and come out swinging right away.

I'd like to take a moment to send a little message to "the cancer" that may or may not be back in residence: Please save yourself the trouble and give up already. I'm stronger, fitter, more confident, and more ready to beat the hell out of you than ever before. You had your shot when you were all over my insides and I had no idea you were there. Remember that? You sort of had the upper hand for a minute back then, didn't you? But that changed quickly and you're the underdog now. Whatever you've got cooking inside my belly -- if anything -- is a joke and a half. You're already toast, you stupid idiot.

Ok, enough trash talking for now. The bottom line is that I will NOT be lacing up my sneakers for more chemo until we are convinced that I need it or -- in other words -- that "the cancer" is insanely ridiculous enough to want another go at me. Either way, I'm not worried. I'm too busy, too productive, too happy, and feeling too great to be worried. And you shouldn't be worried either. Another round with cancer would be frustrating and annoying, but no matter what, it isn't going to threaten the life of this cancer warrior.